Lift me up with a Smile
by garden lover
Summary: Ginny got her NEWTs and they're not what she was hoping for. But Luna has a different perspective on things. Post-Deathly Hallows, gen.


Ginny dropped the letter holding her NEWT results on the bed,after staring at it for too long. She tapped her fingers in the bed frame, going over her results again on her head and worrying she spent too much time with Hermione the past year.

That problem wasn't that her grades were bad They just weren't good enough to become an Auror.

"Are you still mulling over your NEWTs?" Luna asked, lifting her gaze from the old _Martin Miggs, the Mad Muggle_ comic she had been perusing. She was sitting in a big pillow on the floor, completely unconcerned about her own results. Apparently, being a Ravenclaw didn't mean you had to worry about your grades. "It's unnecessary, you know? You're the one who decides your path, not your grades."

"Yeah, but your grades can block the Auror path in a jiff."

"Oh, so you wanted to be an Auror after all?"

"Yes." It came off far more unsure than Ginny hoped. "I mean, Harry and Ron are Aurors. I could be too." She also sounded defensive, to her chagrin.

"And you have your NEWTs, unlike them. I bet them would let you in if you asked. Although I don't know why you would want to work for the ministry, given all the behind the scenes influence and the Heliopath army..."

Ginny tuned off Luna's conspiracy theories. She had asked Tonks once what it took to be accepted to Auror training and, yes, NEWTs counted, but your personality counted more. Lots of people with outstanding tests dropped out because they couldn't handle the pressure, Tonks had said.

Ginny had been at the Battle of Hogwarts, with Harry in the Department of Mysteries, with Dumbledore's Army – the pressure wouldn't be a problem. She still had a good chance to make the cut.

Besides, like Luna had said, Harry and Ron hadn't bothered getting their NEWTs and were now full fledged, successful Aurors.

"How's Harry, anyway?"

Luna was looking at her with her wide eyes and Ginny shook her head to focus back on her. "Harry's fine. Very happy, chasing all those dark wizards still around."

"I thought he might be. But what about you and him?"

Ginny made a face. Dating Harry in fifth year had been fun, everything she could have wanted; the break up after had been maddening, and now things were... complicated. "We're fine, I guess," she said, still feeling unsure.

"Are you?" Luna said, in her vague voice, looking at the particles of dust dancing in the sun light. She was probably thinking about wrackspurts already.

Ginny hid her face on the bed. Harry and her were fine and friendly. It was the dating part that was up in the air, with Harry busy with work and Ginny finishing school.

But they talked, wrote to each other, met a few times in Hogsmeade. Harry told her stories about life as an Auror and Ginny told him how classes were going and the fresh gossip from Hogwarts.

And then Harry, after some story about a chase gone wrong or a more complicated part of training, said stuff like, "You'll see for yourself when it's your turn."

Even Ron talked like that, apparently over most of his infuriating big brother instincts.

Even her mother muttered about it, not happy about the fact her only daughter was going to be an Auror. But she sounded resigned, not adversarial. Like she had made peace with the fact.

It was like everybody in her life had decided Ginny was going to be an Auror, to the point where Ginny herself believed she had actually decided so, when she hadn't.

To be honest, unlike everyone around her, she didn't know what she wanted to do with the rest of her life.

"Luna," Ginny called, turning around in the bed to look at her friend upside down, "do you know what you're going to do with your life?"

"Not everything, obviously," Luna answered, speaking slowly, "but I'll edit the Quibbler some day. Dad and I talked, and he's going to put me in charge of some things, like reviewing article submissions. I think I'll start writing some, as well. I did one about our search for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack in Sweden that went very well. Writing is very fascinating, don't you think?"

"Oh." Ginny stared at Luna and her unblinking eyes, feeling slightly taken aback. "And that's what you want, is it?"

Luna blinked slowly, looking straight at Ginny. "Of course." She kept her gaze steady for a long moment, tilting her head, and asked, "You're not going to be an Auror, then?"

Ginny sighed. She pulled herself up, retrieved a couple of pieces of parchment from her bedside table and went to sit with Luna. "I got this the other day. It's an invite to try out for the Tutshill Tornadoes. And this one," she said, handing Luna another letter, "it's from the Appleby Arrows. And this is from the Holyhead Harpies." Ginny kept the last one for herself, reading it again.

"You're going to play Quidditch!"

"Maybe?" Ginny bit her lip, still looking at the letter. "Gwenog Jones was in one Slug Club meeting, the one right after the last Quidditch match, and she said I had real talent, and then I got these, and it was so much more exciting than the thought of being an Auror." The words came out in a rush, the excitement of finally being able to express herself out loud breaking Ginny's restraint.

Luna seemed focused on her, for once. "That's good, isn't it?"

"Except, I'm not entirely sure that's what I want to do for the rest of my life."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

Ginny threw her arms in the air. "That's the thing! I have no idea!" She carried on, after another sigh, "Everyone was like, you're going to be an Auror, and I was fine with it. Until I could be a professional Chaser, and it was better. What if something else comes along tomorrow and I change my mind again?"

"Two events are not enough to establish a pattern," Luna said, not sounding vague or dreamy, but focused and steady, something she had gotten from Hermione. "And what if you find something you're more passionate about and want to do that instead? That's better than doing something you feel indifferent for. You're brilliant, you can do whatever you want and you'll be good what it."

"You really think that?"

"Sure." And just like that, Luna went back to her usual, dreamy self, discarding Ginny's letters to leaf through the old comic again.

Ginny thought about her words. She was brilliant, she knew. What if she wasn't as academically gifted as Hermione or so willing to rid the world of dark wizards as Harry? She was a good Chaser and more than competent at defensive spells.

And, of all of her brothers, she was the one who came closest to Fred and George's genius when it came to planning pranks.

So what if she hadn't figured everything out? She would eventually and she would excel at it.

She only wished that was happening now and not someday.

"Are you still mulling over things?"

Luna's voice startled Ginny. She shrugged instead of answering.

"Tell you what. Neville was talking about going to the Amazon next, for his research, and I thought I could go with him. There's bond to be all kind of unknown creatures in the jungle and the museum in Manaus is said to have one of the most interesting collection of magical creatures in the world. I figured I could get a few travel articles for the Quibbler out of it, at the very least."

Ginny nodded along. Neville had been doing field Herbology research since leaving Hogwarts, although he hadn't gone anywhere farther than Egypt so far, and Luna had followed his travels with great interest, while hoping for a clue for the existence of unknown magical creatures. The two planning a trip together wasn't surprising.

"Anyway, you should come with us," Luna finished.

"Me?"

"Yes, it'll be fun. Like 6th year at Hogwarts, the three of us, together against the world. Or the perils of a magical tropical jungle," she corrected.

"Sure, fun. Except I'm not an expert in neither Herbology nor Magical Creatures."

"No, but you're great at Defence Against the Dark Arts. And good at thinking on your feet. Much better than either me or Neville. You can be our bodyguard," Luna said in a cheery tone.

Ginny frowned. Bodyguard? Although, for some reason, the thought of running through a jungle was more appealing than chasing dark wizards through dark dungeons. The lighting made a difference.

"It'll give you chance to clear your mind. And the try outs aren't until Autumn, we'll be back in time."

"It's not a bad idea. And the three of us, it'll certainly be fun. And Mom would never approve," Ginny listed all the pros. "You know what? I'm in," she finished, with a great smile.


End file.
